TR's Family (2)

Dear Friends, Relatives, Groupies and Selected Creditors:

Once again we will subject you to the annual update. If I were to follow the normal pattern for these Christmas letters, I would tell you that my wife has become a Victoria Secrets model, I've been appointed to the Senate and each of the kids are now a Rhodes Scholar. I suspect a few of you might see through that so here is the truthful, if somewhat more bland reality.

We will be in North Bay for Christmas since neither family seems willing to have us two years consecutively. The two hours spent cramming all the gifts into the minivan will allow me to estimate the total cost for this year.

Our most recent noteworthy event was my leaving Sears after 27 years. It was time for a change and a new challenge so I'm now 3 weeks into the job search. If I should appear at your door in the next few months, delivering a pizza, you'll know it didn't go well.

The kids are all fine and in good health. J---- will get his degree this year. Hallelujah !!! One more to go for teachers college but for now he is fully occupied with school, work and his long time girlfriend, C----, a lovely young lady. L---- is a bundle of energy and has really become passionate about soccer. She now plays on a competitive rep. team* in Richmond Hill that were league champions this year. A big time investment but well worth it. She will probably end up as tall as my wife so we expect to be fighting off the basketball coaches very soon. R--- - is now in year three at Brock and well on his way to a career in business. As usual, he does very well in school while juggling all the other parts of his life. Katie, the dog turned two this summer and has successfully knocked me down to 4th place in this household.

On a sadder note, my wife lost her best friend K---- G---- in February through a tragic car accident. It hit her pretty hard and she continues to feel that loss. For someone who had never spoken in public, she gave the most amazing eulogy.

It was a long hot summer here in Toronto so we felt we had nothing to lose by going to Cuba for a week in late August. It was L----'s first trip abroad and we had a great vacation. Despite her fear of heights, my wife para-sailed over the beach in Cayo Coco. And you thought seagulls were a hazard!

We wish you all a very merry Christmas and a healthy, happy New Year. For those of you who were eagerly awaiting an update, I must tell you that once again, there was no bass boat under the tree in 04. By the time I get one, I may need to install a wheel chair ramp.

Happy Holidays!

[Written and contributed by Tim R. of Canada.]

* Rep. team: Tim writes: It may be a uniquely Canadian term. It is an abbreviation for "representative team". Most youth soccer here is organized around community clubs which have both "house league" (recreational) and "rep. teams", by age level, which play against other club teams, at a more advanced level.

[Ed. Note: I changed the names for privacy. I used "My Wife" instead of "N----" for clarity, but it reads awkwardly.]